Letter: Lest we forget

Editor, Daily News:

During the Clinton reign, contempt for the military and the intelligence agencies led to the gutting of defense and intelligence budgets. The attack on the USS Cole was the first attack on an American warship in our history that went unheeded. Many other Americans were killed in Muslim attacks on our embassies and overseas barracks. Muslim militants were emboldened during these years by our pitiful responses and correctly believed that he had no stomach for war.

This history almost certainly led to the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in which over 3,000 people were slaughtered right here in America.

On Oct. 31, 1998, President Clinton signed a bill declaring that U.S. policy would be a regime change in Iraq and the establishment of a democratic government. The vote to adopt this policy of regime change through the use of force was passed unanimously by the Senate and by the vast majority in the House.

Two weeks later, Clinton merely launched bombing sorties and cruise missiles against Iraq. Both Saddam Hussein and Muslim militants were unimpressed and continued business as usual.

American policy on Iraq has been absolutely the same through two administrations, but "Billary" left President Bush with the dirty work. Our troops, who must carry out American policy, are obviously performing admirably. Elected politicians who voted for this policy in 1998, and have now changed their tune, do a tremendous disservice to our troops and our country and richly deserve to be unelected at the earliest opportunity.

Robert A. Strohaver , Retired Air Force colonel , Naples